In a variety of applications, the orientation of a platform or the direction of travel of a vehicle (i.e., the heading) is used to point, orient, or guide the platform or the vehicle. Some conventional systems measure the heading using a floating magnetic compass or strap-down magnetic vector sensor, both of which measure the Earth's magnetic field. Other conventional navigation systems use the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Galileo, or GLONASS. The accuracy of these conventional navigation systems is, however, influenced by various factors including, for example, signal strength, or local variations in magnetic field.
Gyroscope-based navigation systems may also be used to determine a heading of a vehicle. These systems use the Earth's rotational rate vector as a reference to directly determine the heading of the vehicle. Because measurement of the Earth's rotational rate vector is unaffected by local magnetic fields, satellite signal strength, or other confounding influences, gyroscope-based navigation systems and methods can be a reliable method for determining the heading of a object. However, using gyroscopes having the accuracy needed for navigation, such as ring-laser gyroscopes (RLG) or fiber optic gyroscopes (FOG), can be expensive.